February 7 – May 9, 2010

Project Europa: Imagining the (Im)Possible considers the relationship of art to democracy in Europe. In 1989, the expansion and unification of Europe was conceived as a vital and urgent social project to promote democracy. Now in the 20th anniversary year of the fall of the Berlin Wall, artists in the exhibition question the promise and potential of Europe’s democratic dream. The works featured in the exhibition, which include large-scale wall paintings, photography and video by 20 artists from Turkey to the British Isles, explore the complex and subtle relationship between art and politics. At the same time, the reflection on Europe provides an opportunity for American audiences to reconsider and reinvigorate our understanding of democracy at home.

For more information on programs and content click here.

The exhibition is made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; the C. Frederick and Aase B. Thompson Foundation; Étant donnés, the French-American Fund for Contemporary Art, a program of the French-American Cultural Exchange; University of Florida Student Government; the John Early Publication Endowment; the Sidney Knight Endowment; and the Harn Program Endowment. Additional support is provided by the following University of Florida entities: School of Art + Art History Harn Eminent Scholar Chair in Art History; Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere; Center for European Studies; France Florida Research Institute; International Center; and Paris Research Institute. Additional funding provided by the Exhibition Circle of the Harn Museum.

September 15, 2009 - February 28, 2010
The publication of a portfolio of original photographs, usually a group of four to 20 prints, has long been a way to present a unified group of images. This exhibition highlights more than a dozen portfolios in the Harn’s photography collection and examines the many reasons artists and collectors are attracted to this format. Each portfolio in this exhibition can be seen as a mini-exhibition in its own right, but brought together as a group, the works suggest the rich diversity of the last quarter century of photography.

The organizational concepts of the portfolios featured here are typically diverse. Monographic portfolios by individual artists such as Jerry Uelsmann and Ken Josephson provide special insights into the artists' work when seen together rather than as isolated examples. Additionally the portfolio format encourages artists to create concentrated thematic groupings, such as Eliot Porter’s China portfolio or Mark Klett’s Amid Generations series of photographs in the environs of Tallahassee.

Portfolios of artists who have been brought together because of their shared support of a specific social cause or political issue are especially interesting examples of the merger of artistic expression together with charity, politics and art market. Of special note is the Harn’s new acquisition of the portfolio By and About Women. The 10 contributing female artists made images about women, and some images feature women at the Lotus House, a shelter for homeless women in Miami. The exhibition is made possible by the Sidney Knight Endowment.

August 25, 2009 - August 1, 2010
Art, Media and Material Witness explores the relationships between artists and the historical, political and social challenges of their time. The exhibition proposes the artist as a material witness, defined as “a witness whose testimony is both relevant to the matter at issue and required in order to resolve the matter.” Questions that emerge include: What are the forms of artistic testimony? What is the significance of art in society’s discourse? Is art essential? What can art resolve? Can art change the way we think of or imagine our world?

Twenty five artists from Africa, Latin America and the United States engage with these important issues through a variety of media. The exhibition features several new acquisitions and important loans. Each featured work gives compelling testimony about the issues and conditions of its unique time and place in the world. Some challenge political circumstances through irony and humor and question the potential of utopian aspirations. Others explore the tension between nature and humanity and unsettle concepts of the “natural.” Lastly, the works question and reflect on historical representations of culture and identity.

Artists in the exhibition from Africa include El Anatsui, William Kentridge and Magdalene Odundo. American artists include Kehinde Wiley, Renée Cox, Cindy Sherman, Jason Middlebrook, Eric Fischl, Charles Arnoldi and Hiram Williams. Also special in this exhibition, the Harn showcases a growing collection of Latin American artists. They include Los Carpinteros, Carlos Garaicoa, Melanie Smith, Gabriel Orozco, Sergio Vega, Ana Mendieta, Rafael Jesús Soto, Wilfredo Lam and Roberto Matta, among others.

A Man Screaming Is Not a Dancing Bear will be showing as part of the exhibition through May 30. The film was created by artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla in New Orleans and the Missisippi delta after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The film cuts between a lush river landscape, an abandoned home and a young man drumming on the slats of Venetian blind in a poetic and compelling response to the flood.

The exhibition is made possible by the 150th Anniversary Cultural Plaza Endowment.

Ongoing
This exhibition is comprised of works from the Harn Museum’s African collection and features objects from homes, palaces, shrines and other sacred spaces. Diverse mediums and object types are represented, including sculptures, paintings, ceramic vessels, textiles and architectural elements such as doors, window frames and roof ornaments. Groups of objects are displayed to suggest particular spaces, including an Owo Yoruba ancestral shrine, a Yoruba palace, a Bamana tent dwelling, an Ethiopian church, a Somali pastoralist home, Igbo guardian deity shrines and a men’s communal house. Contextual images accompany each display and give the viewer a sense of how art enhances and defines spaces for everyday activities, worship and royal courts. The exhibition is made possible by the Harn Program Endowment.

Ongoing
The Harn Museum’s Asian art collection is divided into three geographically defined sub-collections: Chinese art, Japanese and Korean art, and Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art. This ongoing exhibition presents a selection of significant works from all three sub-collections representing a broad range of historical periods and genres. Ceramics and sculpture are especially prominent in the displays, which also include bronzes, jades, lacquers, cloisonné enamels and paintings. The objects on view represent only a fraction of the Harn Museum’s total Asian collection, which is one of the largest and finest Asian art collections in the southeastern United States. New works of art are periodically rotated into the exhibition to keep it fresh and interesting.

Art for All Occasions: Collectors in China, Japan and Korea is an installation composed of exquisite works from the Harn Museum of Art’s Asian art holdings and loans from distinguished local collections. The installation presents views about how traditional collectors of Asian art gathered, studied and lived with their works of art. Organized into three distinct yet interrelated sections, Art for All Occasions juxtaposes various types of art to explore collecting activities in China, Japan and Korea. Whether the work is an ancient bronze, fine porcelain or a painting, the common theme that emerges is that collectors thoughtfully interacted with their collected works during their lifetimes. The exhibition is made possible by the Eloise R. Chandler Program Endowment.

September 5, 2006 - October 24, 2010
The Harn Museum highlights its holdings of modern American, European and Latin American art spanning the mid-19th century through the first half of the 20th century. Featured works include landscapes, city views, mural studies, portraits, figural studies and sculpture by more than 40 artists. In addition, this exhibition includes a special area devoted to works on paper such as charcoal and pencil drawings, pastels and watercolors. Among the artists represented are 19th century artists Claude Monet, Theodore Robinson and Auguste Rodin, and 20th century artists Milton Avery, George Bellows, Charles Burchfield, Suzy Frelinghuysen, Albert Gallatin, Childe Hassam, Gaston Lachaise, Reginald Marsh, Georgia O’Keeffe, Raphael Soyer and Hale Woodruff. Made possible by the Eloise R. Chandler Program Endowment.